Although the facts surrounding the alleged 22 year old shooter who opened fire with an automatic weapon and wounded several people and killed six are still being sorted out, the tragedy in Arizona is bringing awareness to the importance of screening for mental illness.
Not every mentally ill person is a danger to others. In fact, according to NAMI, the amount of people who are mentally ill who commit acts of violence is very low.
Knowing the signs of mental illness is something that every educator should be trained to recognize. The question is, when do we as a society step in and try and help someone who may be in need?
There are people who just have a "different" kind of personality. They may appear to fit into some kind of "personality disorder" but do they really need help?
Almost fifteen years ago when I first heard about Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, I felt it was an excuse for bad parenting. I feel badly for judging anyone by criticizing their parenting skills but hearing the "symptoms" of ADHD and other similar disorders I (and others) may be inclined to think that all the kid needs is a swat on the butt and told "no" every once in a while. I am a product of the generation that I was brought up in.
You know, you absolutely NEVER back-talked your parent. Oh, maybe you did once but you never did again. The generation where you had respect for your elders. If you were out playing and an adult yelled at you, your parent knew that you probably were deserving of it or they were just the "cranky" old woman who didn't like kids.
No one sued, parents taught that there were consequences to your actions.
Somehow, things changed. The world became tougher to deal with. Did we baby our children so much that they just couldn't cope? I don't know.
Is there such a thing a mental illnesses? Yes, I believe that there is. But, and this is a huge but, they are overly diagnosed.
Too many doctors are quick with the prescription pad and not adept at listening. Often the pressure to see as many patients as they can in order to make a living due to insurance not paying enough for their services causes doctors to not listen well. Finding quality mental health care that is affordable is harder to do than ever.
With so many state agencies losing funds and making cut-backs, those without health insurance and in need of mental health evaluations are slipping through the cracks. Many people choose to self-medicate rather than go through the lengthy process of treatment.
For other people, denial that it is mental illness causes them to self-medicate.
Who knows why the young man in Arizona chose the horrible path that he did. It is tragic and sad. If he truly is ill (how can a "sane" person do what he did) and no one noticed, whose "fault" is that?
We really need to re-evaluate laws that were meant to protect the abuse of mentally ill by giving them the right to not accept treatment. It may be a fine line in protecting one from themselves but it is also protecting a potentially dangerous person from the rest of us.
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